A South Wales mother is facing an agonising wait of up to 30 days after her £12 million winning lottery ticket was allegedly thrown in the bin by a shopkeeper.
Kath Main, 46, had played the same numbers – 08, 10, 26, 30, 35 and 42 – for 20 years. On June 6, her mother Fiona, a café owner, put them on at the Londis in Abercynon. When she asked the shop to check the ticket, the machine did not beep and nothing appeared on the screen. The owner told her there were no winners and, at her agreement, the ticket was binned.
“Kath Main's £12m winning lottery ticket was accidentally binned; she faces 30-day wait for Allwyn decision.”
Days later, Kath saw a news report that the £12 million prize was unclaimed. She rang her mother. “I said, ‘You did put the lottery on?’ and she said, ‘Yeah,’” Kath told The Sun. “‘I said, ‘Well we’ve won the lottery,’ and she said, ‘I checked and there was no winners.’ I said, ‘No, it’s a winner, we’ve won.’ She said, ‘How much?’ and I said, ‘£12m.’ She said, ‘It can’t be, the ticket’s in the bin.’” By the time they realised the blunder, the bins had been emptied.
Kath, a rugby club secretary, said: “I just feel sick all the time, it’s the not knowing and waiting.” She added: “I’m the unluckiest person to win the lottery because I don’t have the money. I’m trying not to think about what I’d do with the money in case I don’t get it.” If she does win, she said she would go to New Zealand for the British and Irish Lions tour in 2029.
Lottery operator Allwyn has launched an investigation. An Allwyn spokesperson said: “We take our duty of care to players very seriously. We are currently investigating a claim relating to a potentially winning ticket. The National Lottery is the only major lottery in the world that allows players to claim a prize if a winning ticket has been lost, stolen or destroyed.”
Kath has provided proof of purchase and doorbell footage showing her mother at the time the ticket was made. Allwyn told her that if the machine did not beep, it could be a human error – a faulty machine was “highly unlikely”. The Londis has no CCTV because it is undergoing a renovation.
Shop owner Karan Kumar said: “The machine could have been playing up. Now they are doing an investigation. It would be amazing if she won.”
Winners have 180 days to claim; unclaimed funds go to National Lottery-funded projects. For Kath, the wait is far shorter – but no less painful.